A 21-year-old from Cambridge aiming to be the youngest person and first woman to row unsupported from Europe to South America has said she feels “really grateful” every day after seeing fish in the ocean and dolphins.
Zara Lachlan set off from Lagos on the Portuguese Algarve on 27 October to row 3,600 nautical miles to French Guiana in a journey expected to take her about 90 days.
Zara Lachlan, 21, from Cambridge
Ms Lachlan, who will join the Army in September as a technical officer having completed a physics degree at Loughborough University, has covered more than half of her journey and is due to finish in early February.
The rower has had to overcome a cut leg, an injured arm and a broken finger as well as a capsized boat and broken equipment as she aims to become the first woman to row from mainland Europe to mainland South America solo.
Despite her challenges, she said her voyage has made her feel “really grateful to be here”.
Speaking on a phone from her boat, Ms Lachlan said: “My biggest highlight that I think made me feel the most emotional was on day six and it was just the first time I’ve ever seen a fish in the ocean.
“It was the moment that I realised that I’m actually doing something for the journey and not to get there. If I wanted to get to South America quickly, I would fly.
“I thought it was the coolest thing ever. So now, every time I see a fish or anything, I still am completely amazed that we’re in space at the same time.”
She said she smashed the screen of her primary phone on day 40, preventing her from listening to any music during her journey, which had been important to keep her motivated.
“I rowed for 16 hours a day with literally only the sound of the water, which most of the time is really nice, but sometimes I think my brain could really use some kind of stimulation,” she said.
Zara Lachlan, 21, from Cambridge
She admits her confidence in completing her mammoth challenge waivered in the first month of her voyage.
“That first month was the hardest thing mentally that I’d ever had to do because I had to push myself for so many hours every day,” she explained.
“That first month I was probably averaging between 18 and 20 hours a day to (cover) 15 miles, and I found it really hard to motivate myself.
“I thought that my journey was going to get stopped because I wasn’t making enough progress.”
The mental aspect of her trip has proved harder than the physical challenges, she said, explaining that being alone has been tough.
“I’ve been working hard for a lot of years to make sure that physically I wouldn’t struggle too much, but it has been difficult to be alone the whole time,” she said.
“Obviously it’s nice to have people on the bad days because I can’t actually physically have anybody there.
“But also the really nice moments, like I saw whales and dolphins, and it would be really nice to just have somebody to share that with. I’m really looking forward to going home.”
21-year-old Zara Lachlan, from Cambridge, departs. Picture: Andrew Ascough
She hopes the second half of her voyage will be “much quicker than the first half” as she feels she has developed “a lot more courage” compared to the start of her journey.
Speaking before her journey, Ms Lachlan said she hopes to inspire more women to get active while raising money for Women In Sport, a charity aiming to address gender inequality in sport.
“I know it seems like an extreme way to inspire other women to get into fitness, but I want people to realise their potential and, if I can complete this challenge having never rowed on the ocean before, then other women can attempt a challenge of their own, albeit probably not a cross-Atlantic row,” she said.